Antenna mounting



Dec. Z1, 1954 J. L. STEWART ANTENNA MOUNTING Filed July 21, 1951 1N VENTOR. Jvc/r 57E-uwer /can 2 United States Patent() ANTENNA MOUNTING.lackl L. Stewart, Cleveland Heights, Ohio, assignor to The GabriellCompany, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application July 21,1951, Serial No. 237,975

4 Claims. (CIL Z50- 33) This invention relates to an antenna mountingsuch as a mounting for an automobile antenna, particularly one that ismounted on the cowl, fender or other locations of the automobile whichhave straight, sloping or curved panels as the support for the mounting.

Antenna mountings of the type hereinbefore referred to usually include ashort sleeve member in which is mounted an insulating bushing in turnmounting a threadedsleeve and into which threaded sleeve the antenna rodscrews. In these mountings the nuts for clamping the outer and innermounting members against the outer and inner sides of the panel and formaintaining the assembled relationship of the parts of the mounting arescrewed on the threaded portion of the antenna rod. The result in suchan arrangement is that when the nuts are screwed to clamping position tomaintain the mounting assembled the strain or force set up to hold themounting members firmly against the outer and inner sides of-the panelustransmitted directly to the threaded sleeve and insulating bushing inthe relatively short sleeve. This strain or force acting through theantenna rod on the threaded sleeve and insulating bushing frequentlycauses the threaded sleeve to be pulled out of the insulating bushing orthe insulatmg bushing to be pulled out of the relatively short sleeve ofthe construction.

Another disadvantage in these antenna mountings lies in the fact that inorder to remove the antenna rod the clamping nut which holds themounting members in -asse bled position upon the panel must be loosenedwith the result that the mounting assembly becomes disassembled.

An object of the present invention is to provide an antenna mountingwherein the clamping nut for the mounting assembly exerts no strain orforce through the antenna rod upon the threaded sleeve and insulatingbushing'in the mounting sleeve, thereby obviating danger of the threadedsleeve pulling out of the insulating bushing or the latter pulling out`of the mounting sleeve.

A further object of the invention is to provide an antenna mountingwherein the clamping forces which hold the mounting members on the panelof the automobile in clamped assembled relationship are not imparted toany part of the mounting through the antenna rod.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an antennamounting such that the antenna rod can be removed from the mounting oi'secured therein Without disturbing the clamped assembly of the mountingparts on the panel of the automobile.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an antennamounting wherein the antenna rod is completely insulated from the partsof the mounting, wherefore the mounting, and particularly the outer andinner mounting members, if desired can be formed of metal parts, exceptthose parts which insulate the antenna rod from the remainder of themounting assembly.

Another object of the invention is to provide an 'antenna mounting whichis so constructed that various types of inner and outer mounting membersadapted to the curvature of the panel can be employed.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an antennamounting which is simple in construction, can be readily manufacturedand easily assembled.`

Further and additional objects and advantages inherent in .therinvention and not specifically recited above will become apparentduring the detailed description of an embodiment of the invention whichis to follow.

Referring to the accompanying drawing illustrating such embodiment ofthe invention- Fig. 1 shows the antenna mounting in longitudinal'sectionand with the antenna rod assembled in the mounting, the antenna rod andthe lead-in cable connector assembly being shown partly in longitudinalsection 4and partly in elevation, and

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but shows the antenna rod removedfrom the mounting assembly.

The embodiment of the invention illustrated inA the drawing shows anantenna mounting comprising a metal mounting sleeve 10 which is ofsubstantial length such that when it is passed through the opening 11 inthespanel 12 of the automobile on which the antenna mounting. isassembled the sleeve extends well beyond the outer and inner surfaces ofthe panel 12. It will be understood that the panel 12 may be a cowlpanel, a fender or some other part of the automobile.

The mounting sleeve 10 at its upper or outer and its lower or inner endsis externally threaded as indicated at 13 and 14. The sleeve lt)intermediate its ends isproT vided with an internally projecting annularbead 15 for a purpose later to be explained. Fitted into the upper orouter end of the sleeve 10 with a tight tit thereinis an outerinsulating bushing 16 provided at its outer end with a thickened portionor flange 17 which overlies and engages the outer end of the sleeve 10.The sleeve 10,als0 has tightly fitted therein a. lower insulatingbushing 18, the upper end of which engages the internal bead le' whichacts to positively prevent any upward movement of the lower insulatingbushing 1S within the sleeve 10.

The lower or inner insulating bushing 18 intermediate its ends isprovided with an axial bore communicating adjacent the upper end of thebushing with a counterbore 19 and also communicating at its lower endwith a counterbore 26 which in turn communicates with a larger counter-`bore 21 adjacent the lower end of the lower insulating bushing 18 andproviding a stop shoulder within the `bushing. The axial bore in thelower insulating bushing 18 provides therein what may be termed aninternal annular rib as indicated at 22.

An internally threaded metal sleeve 23 is mounted in the lowerinsulating bushing 18 and the external diameter of the sleeve 23 is suchthat it has a pressed or tight-tit within the internal annular rib 22 ofthe bushing 18. The internally threaded sleeve 23 at its lower end hasan exf ternal annular flange 24 located in the counterbore 21 of thelower insulating bushing and which flange will engage the stop shoulderformed by the counterbore 21 to prevent the threaded sleeve being pulledupwardly and out of the lower insulating bushing 18.

The outer or upper mounting member and the inner or lower mountingmember of the assembly may take various forms suitable for use on acurved panel or a straight panel and, if desired, may be formed entirelyof metal, entirely of rubber or plastic material, or of a combination ofmetal and rubber or plastic materials. These mounting members may takethe form illustrated in the drawing or they may have the form of themounting members shown in the Finke et al. Patent 2,470,693, issued May17, 1949, or they may be of any other suitable form.

The outer or upper mounting member 25 is illustrated as formed of hardrubber and it has its lower side curved or shaped to conformsubstantially to the curve or configuration of the upper surface of' thepanel 12. The mounting member 25 at its upper end is provided with abore through which the mounting sleeve 10 extends with a fairly snug fitwhich is to better exclude moisture and dirt. The sleeve 10, except forits contact with the member 25 in the bore referred to, is spacedinwardly from the interior of the member 25. The outer mounting member25 preferably seats at its inner end in a complementaryl recess formedin a soft rubber gasket 26 which engages the outer side of the panel 12as will be well understood in the art.

The inner or lower mounting member is indicated at 27 and is arrangedbeneath the panel 12 and is formed in this instance of hard rubber orplastic. The inner member 27 snugly fits the sleeve 10 and has its upperend shaped toy conform substantially to the contour of the underside of.2S being interposed be-VA the panel 12, a soft rubber gasket tween theunderside of the panel 12 and the upper .end of the lower mountingmember 27.

A lead-in cable connector assembly designated generally at 29 andincluding an outer sleeve 30, an insulating sleeve 31 and an inner radiofrequency conductor 32 is secured to the externally threaded lower end14 of the mounting sleeve by means of a securing nut 33 which engagestlanges on the sleeve in a manner well understood in the art. The sleeve30 is connected by soldering to a sheath 30a. A contact socket 32a isconnected by soldering to the end of conductor 32 and extends toadjacent the end of the insulating sleeve 31. A washer 34 is interposedbetween the nut 33 and the lower end of the inner or lower mountingmember 27 as clearly indicated in the drawing and abuts the said member27.

The antenna mounting thus far described is mounted on Y the panel 12 bypositioning on the mounting sleeve l the inner or lower mounting member27, the washer 34, the nut 33 and the lead-in connector assembly 29,after which the sleeve 10 is passed upwardly through the opening 11 inthe panel 12 until the gasket 28 engages the underside of the panel.Then the gasket 26 and the upper or outer mounting member 25 arepositioned on the mounting sleeve 10, whereupon the entire assembly maybe drawn into tight clamped and assembled position on the panel by theclamping nut 35, which is screwed onto the threaded outer end 13 of themounting sleeve 10 and has a flange which engages the outer end of theouter mounting member 25.

When the antenna mounting assembly has been thus secured in position onthe panel 12 in clamping engagement with the panel, its assembledrelationship need not be disturbed in order to mount the antenna rodtherein or to remove the antenna rod therefrom and thus a decidedadvantage over the usual antenna mounting is obtained by the mounting ofthe present invention.

The antenna rod is shown for purposes of illustration only as comprisinga tubular portion 36 which may be in the form of a single elongated tubeor may be made up of a plurality of telescoping tube sections if theantenna is of the extensible and retractable type. The tube portion 36of the antenna has mounted in its lower end a solid anf tenna rod 37which may be secured in the tube portion 36 by any suitable means suchas by clamping the tube portion inwardly into annular channels formed inthe rod 37 as indicated at 38.

The antenna rod 37 is provided with a cylindrical portion 39 of greaterexternal diameter than the remainder of the rod and which portion 39will have a snug t in the outer insulating bushing 16 carried by themounting sleeve 10. The antenna rod 37 below the cylindrical portion 39has a reduced portion 40 of less external diameter than the internaldiameter of the bushing 16, wherefore there will be clearance betweenthe portion 4t) of the rod and the interior of the bushing when theantenna rod is secured in the antenna mounting.

Below the portion 40 the antenna rod has a still further reduceddiameter portion 41 and below said portion 41 the rod has a threadedportion 42 which screws into the internally threaded metal connectingsleeve 23 which is carried by the lower insulating bushing 18 within themounting sleeve 10. The extreme lower end of the rod 37 and below thethreaded portion 42 has a connecting jack portion 43 which when theantenna rod is assembled in the mounting extends into the insulatingsleeve 31 and the contact socket 32a and is tightly gripped by thesocket 32a to form an electrical contact therewith.

A cap nut 44 functions in addition to the threaded connection betweenthe threaded portion 42 and the metal connecting sleeve 23 to connectthe antenna rod to the mounting sleeve 10. This cap nut 44 can rotaterelative to the antenna rod when screwed down upon the external threads13 at the outer end of the mounting sleeve 10 and acts through anoperative connection between the closed end of the cap nut 44 and thecylindrical portion 39 of the antenna rod to apply locking friction tothe threads of the rod portion 42 and the connecting sleeve 23. Theclosed end of the cap nut 44 mounts an insulating gasket or washer 45which has a sliding fit on the tubular portion 36 of the antenna.

Intermediate the washer 45 and the shoulder formed by the portion 39 ofthe antenna rod there is a metal flange or washer 46 which may be anintegral out-turned flange portion of the tube 36 or may be a separatewasher. The washer 46 does not contact the interior of the cap nut 44.

Assuming that the antenna mounting has been assembled and clamped inposition in the panel 12 as shown in 4 Fig. 2, the antenna rod can thenbe inserted through the insulating bushing 16 until the threaded portion42 of the rod reaches the metal connecting sleeve 23, whereupon rotationof the rod will cause the threaded portion 42 to screw into the sleeve23 as indicated in Fig. l, with the connecting end jack portion 43 ofthe rod engaging the socket 32a of the lead-in connector assembly. Atthis time the enlarged cylindrical portion 39 of the rod is tightlyengaging the interior of the insulating bushing 16 adjacent the outerend of the latter and it will be noted that the rod is adequatelysupported at axially spaced points, i. e., at the cylindrical portion 39and the threaded portion 42 against lateral vibrational movements. Alsoat this time the rod is rmly, mechanically and electrically connected tothe antenna mounting and to the conductor 32. However, in order to putlocking friction on the threaded connection between the threaded portion42 of the rod and the sleeve 23 the cap nut 44 is screwed downwardly onthe mounting sleeve 10 until the washer 46 is in rm or tight engagementwith the outer end of the ange portion 17 of the insulating sleeve 16.Thus is obviated likelihood of undesired loosening rotation of theantenna rod because of vibration or other factors, wherefore thethreaded connection between the portion 42 of the rod and the sleeve 23is not disturbed. Also when the cap nut 44 has been'screwed down in themanner just referred to it functions to seal the antenna mountingagainst the entrance of dirt and moisture and imparts to the same anished appearance.

It will be clearly seen that should the antenna become bent or otherwiseinjured or should it be desirable for any reason whatsoever to removethe rod from the mounting this can be done without disturbing theassembled and clamped relationship of the mounting by merely backing offthe cap nut 44 and then rotating the antenna rod to unscrew the samefrom the sleeve 23. It will be observed also that the clamping nut 35transmits no force or strain to the bushing 18 and connecting sleeve 23and thus is avoided any tendency of the bushing and sleeve 23 to bepulled from the mounting sleeve 10 by the antenna rod.

The antenna rod is completely insulated from the mounting sleeve 1t) byvirtue of the insulating bushing 16 which it engages and by reason ofthe fact that the connecting sleeve 23 is supported solely by theinsulating bushing 1S while at all other locations the antenna rod issubstantially spaced from and out of contact with the mounting sleeve10. Consequently the outer and inner mounting members and the otherexternal parts of the assembly can be formed of metal, if desired, asthey have no function of insulating the antenna rod from the panelAlthough a preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustratedand described herein it will be understood that the invention issusceptible of various modifications and adaptations within the scope ofthe appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

l. In combination, an antenna mounting and an antenna rod securedtherein, said mounting comprising an elongated mounting sleeve adaptedto extend through an opening in the panel of an automobile to which themounting is secured, outer and inner mounting members on said sleeve tobear against the opposite sides of the panel, means on the inner end ofsaid sleeve and engaging said inner mounting member to retain the memberon the sleeve, said sleeve being exteriorly threaded adjacent its outerend, a clamping nut on the threaded outer end of said sleeve andengageable with said outer mounting mem-v ber to draw said mountingmembers into clamping engagement with the panel and to maintain saidmembers and mounting sleeve in assembled mounted relation on the panel,said'mounting sleeve being provided internally with threaded means, saidantenna rod extending into said mounting sleeve from the outer endthereof and having a threaded portion screwed into said threaded meansto connect the antenna rod to the mounting independently of the clampingnut and free from the clamping forces exerted thereby.

2. The combination detined in claim l and wherein the threaded meansinternally of the mounting sleeve comprises an insulating bushingsecured in said mounting sleeve and an internally threaded connectingsleeve secured in said bushing.

3. The combination defined in claim 2 and wherein said antenna rodrotatably mounts a cap nut screwed upon the outer end of the mountingsleeve outwardly of the clamping nut, said antenna rod being providedwith an external shoulder against which said cap nut acts to impartlocking friction to the threads of the threaded portion of the rod andthe conneuting sleeve.

4. An antenna mounting as defined in claim 2 and wherein said bushingand connecting sleeve are adjacent the inner end of the mounting sleevewhile a second insuiating bushing is mounted internally of the mountingsleeve adjacentthe outer end thereof, said rod having a portion of suchdiameter as to snugly tit within said second bushing while said rodintermediate said last mentioned portion and the threaded portionthereof is of such diameter as to be spaced from the interior of themounting sleeve and said second bushing.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 2,444,189 Finneburgh et al June 28, 1948 2,509,563 Grashow May30, 1950 10 2,536,733 Finke et a1 Jan. 2, 1951 2,563,540 Ludwig et a1Aug. 7, 1951

